The timpano is a large hemispherical bowl of metal with a membrane stretched across the rim, affixed and tuned by screwtaps or with a pedal mechanism; tubular or orchestral bells are vertically suspended on a frame and struck at the top end with mallets. These instruments were often used by Witold Lutosławski in his orchestral works; the glockenspiel is a small keyboard of aluminium alloy keys played with small beaters; the xylophone has hardwood, rather than metal, bars, and is played using hard-headed beaters to give a distinctive ‘pop’ to the sound.

The snare drum is a shallow double-sided drum on the underside of which gut coils or metal springs are secured by a clamp, and which rattle against the underside when the drum is beaten, while the bass drum produces the loudest sound (unpitched) in the orchestra; the tambourine has a wooden hoop with a membrane stretched across it, and has metal discs suspended in the rim to make a jangling sound; a triangle is formed from a suspended triangular-shaped steel bar, played by striking it with a separate bar of steel - the sound produced can be clearly perceived even when played against a full orchestra; cymbals are two brass dishes struck together; castanets are two hollow shells of wood struck together; and the gong is a suspended disc of metal struck with a soft hammer.

tables

musical instruments: percussion

essays

Percussion instruments

audios

Chinese block

tabor

animations

making a xylophone